Continuous crossing.



L. L. HARTZLER.

CONTINUOUS CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED 11011.12, 191s.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

(luau x1 5 0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

L. L. HARTZLER.

commons CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV 12 1913.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

s SHEETS-SHEET 3.

{Suva Him ZZZ. Hart 2i 6)" WWW a THE NORRIS PETERS CO4. PHOjc-LITHQ. WASHING TON. D. C.

' UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcn LEE L. HARTZ'LER, or LIMA, OHIO.

CONTINUOUS CROSSING.

. To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, LEE L. HARTZLER,

citizen of the United States, residing at Lima, in the countyof Allen, State of Ohio, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Continuous Crossings; and I 1 the same.

do hereby declare the following to'be a full, clear, and eXact description of themvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use This invention relates to railroads; and has speclal reference to a rallroad cross ng of-an improved type wherein the crosslng rails may be made continuous for the passage of a train so that the tram may pass over the crossing withoutjar or shock and thus prevent injury both to the car wheels and to the crossing and road bed. 1 l

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved form J of railroad crossing wherein the rail, of either of the tracks, may be made continuous for travel over either' crossing track.

A second object of the invention is to provide an improved mechanism. for operating such a crosslng. 1

A third object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of improved character having a locking means 'so that the device may be operative under safety conditions from a signal tower or other operating station.

With the above and other objects in View the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and specifically claimed.

More particularly the invention includes, among other things, a crossing provided with separable rail sections arranged to abut the stationary rails and a filler block for filling the space between the sections when separated, together with suitable mechanisms for operating the same.

In the accompanying-drawings, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and Figure 1 is a plan view of a crossing constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar, 39, 1915 Application filed November 12, 1913. Serial No. 800,617.

showing the sliding connection between the stationary and movable rails and also the lever support on the movable rails; Fig. 8 is a detail view of the end of the sliding rail and the guarding rail. 1 Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the end of the sliding rail. Fig. 10 is a section on the line 1010 of Fig. 1, showing the locking bolt mechanism. Fig. 11 is a section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 10.

It is to be understood that in carrying out the objects of this invention the crossing is provided, as-is common in all crossings, with some suitable form of foundation on which the parts hereinafter to be described are firmly fixed. It is not deemed necessary in the present showing to indicate specifically the form of foundation as this may be of any of the usual forms, such as concrete track B, are provided with the approaching rails 11 and 11. These approaching rails are welded or otherwise secured together at each corner of the crossing and their junction point attached to the respective bed plate '10. Outside of the approaching rails at each corner there is provided a guard andv base rail 12,0f the ordinary type. It will of course be obvious that the rails 11 on one side of the crossing are alined with the rails 11* on the other side and inlike manner that the rails 11 on opposite sides of the crossing are also alined. Between the re.- spective pairs of rails 11 and 11 are located inside guard rails 13 which have their ends connected by the guard rails 14; which form the outside guard rails or the crossing rails hereinafter to be described. Within the rectangle formed by the four corners or junction points of the rails 11 and 11 is an inside guard rail rectangle 15, the rails of which are alined with therespective rails 13. At the sides of this insideguardlrail 15 and between said sides and the guard rail 11 are located the sliding crossing rails 16 which are alined with the respective ap proaching'rails 11 and 11 and are indicated likewise a't'16? 'and'16" for the purpose of distinguishing those rails which pertainto the track A and those rails which pertain-- to the track B from each other. Each of the rails 16 is provided with a tongue 17 p which fits into a suitable slot 18 made in the 7 end of" a respective rail 11.

This tongue forms a continuation of a portion of the web and the respective rails 16. These rails 16 havjetheir inner ends beveled as indicated at 18and between the beveled ends 18 is movable a filler rail 19 having correspondingly beveled end and being so arranged that when the rails 16 of each palr are separated so that' their end comes in Contact with the linerails 11 of the pair the filler rail 19 may be moved into position between said rails 16 so that the inside of the rails-11, 16 and 19 will all be substantially in alinement. V For'the purpose of preventing a sharp corner from projecting outward and lnterfering with the movement of the train the filler rails 19 have theirheadsbev- .eled slightly at the corners as indicated at 20. i

,The respective rails 14: and 15 are preferably connected together at the bottom by I means of a flange 21 forming a continuation I reference to Fig; 8. v

.From the foregoing it can be seen that the rails 16 on each. side of the track may be moved apart while the rails 16 are drawn together and the rails 19 fit in betweenthe respective rails 16 so the track Ais contin-.

. ued or, if the reverse may take place so that thetrack B is continuous. In order to accomplish this operation simultaneously. so that at no time can both tracks be made continuous but each can be made continuous fflwhile the other is drawn out of the contin-- uouslposition so that space is provided between the ends of the respective rails 16-and the'line rails of the opposite track for the v flanges of passing wheels there is provided certain mechanism which will now be described. At 25 isa stand ,whereon is located'apivot'pin QG'on Which is pivoted the angle of a bell crank lever 27 one arm of which is connected by a rod 28 which extends to the signal tower or other suitable operating place for the device. To the remaining arm of this lever'isconnected a rod 29 which is in turn connected to a locking plate 30 having suitable bolt receiving openings. 31 formed therein in. spaced relation. This plate 30 eiitends through a slot 31 'formed in a locking bolt guide plate 32 and registering with a similar slot formed in" one of the rails 14; said--plate-32 being normally secured by suitable bolts to said rails 14:. On the plate32 are guide lugs 331through which passes'a'pin 3 1 which is connected, by means of. aleve'r 35 pivoted intermediate its ends to apin 35 ona stand-37. The remaining arm of this lever 35 is connected to an operating rod38 which also-extends to'the tower.

Now, it is to-be observed that if the pin be 7 in position through oneofthe bolt or pin receiving openings .30.-;the lockbar' 30 cannot be moved by the connecting rod 28. If however the pin be withdrawn the lock bar 30 can then be moved. By suitablyconnect ng' the bars 28 and 30 to the-interlocking mechanism arrangement may be made whereby the usual warning signal can be set along either track, This; connection, :how-

ever, hasno partfof the inventionand is accordingly not shown or described.

Connected to the lockingbar 3OJisa rod 39 which, passes through a'suitable' opening in the guard rail 15, this opening being alined with the'opening. 31 and this rod is screwed into the sleeve. 10 got a bracket .41 which is provided with a forked end 42 wherein is =fixed a plate 13 having-pivot openings 44. at its end. At 45 are certain loo lever supports which are located centrally of the rails 1% 11nd securely bolted thereto. Each of these lever supports is provided with a pair of spaced pivot pins 46 andon these pivot pins are pivoted the bell crank levers 17 These bell crankylevers 47 each.

have one arm connected by a pin 48'witha respective op'eningttin the plate43 so that aslthis plate is moved the levers 47 will be operated. The remaining arm of each lever. 47 is connected bya pin49. to abracket 50.

securely bolted to one of the. sliding rail members 16. Now itwill be observed that asthe bracket 41 is movedtoward the centerfof the crossing the sliding rail members 16 to which theirespective brackets 41 are attachedl'will be moved towardeach other while, when the bracket is moved away from the center of the crossing the sliding rail members will be moved away from each other. 7 In order. to eilectthis movement simultaneously-in all four "sets of the.

members -.or rails .16 the bracket .40 which is attached tdtherod39has connected thereto a rod 51 which carries aibracket'52fsimila1i;

in all respects to the bracket 41 and similarly provided with a plate 43. This plate 43 is connected to one arm of each of a pair of bell crank levers 53 which are pivoted on pins 54 supported on suitable fixedstands 55'. The remaining arms of these bell crank levers 53 are connected torods 56 and these rods are in turn connected to brackets 57 similar in all respects to the brackets 41 but connected to the rails at right anglesto the "rails to which the bracket 41 is connected.

The bracket 52 is also connected to anextension 58 of the rod 51 and this extension 58 has its end pivotally connected to one arm of a bell crank lever 59 which is supported on a suitable pivot pin 60 carried on a plate 61. The remaining arm of the bell crank lever 59 is connected to a second'bell crank lever 62 also supported on the plate 61 by The remaining to-a rod 64 which carries a bracket 65 sim" ilar in all respects and similarly connected to its rail 16 as the bracket 11. Thus all of the rails 16 are connected to and operated bythe movement of the rod 28. In order tooperate the filler rails '19 these rails are connected respectively to the bar 39 and to bars 66 carried by the respective brackets 57 and 55. This arrangement can be best seen by reference to Fig. 3 Where it will be noted that these bars 66 are fast through a suitable opening in the web of the respective rail 19 as indicated at 67 and on each side of said web there is provided the nut68 which serves to hold the rail 19 in position on the respective bar 66. Moreover these bars 66 are provided with fiatextensions 69 which pass through suitable slots 70 formed in the respective rails 14: so that the rails 19 are properly guided.

N ow, considering the parts in position shown in Fi 1 if the rod 38 be moved in the direction of arrow the bolt will be withdrawn from the locking bar 30 so that the rod 28 can then be moved in the direction of position, as can be seen in Fig. 1, there is formed practically continuous rail includ ing the rails 11, 16 and fillerrails 19.

There has thus been provided a simple and eflicient device of the kind described,

and of the character specified.

' It will be obvious that many minor changes may be made in the form and construction of this inventionwithout departing from the material principles thereof. It

is not therefore desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is wished to include all such as come properly within the scope claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is 2-- 1. In a railroad crossing, alined stationary rails, separable rails arranged in sets located between pairs of the alined rails and movable longitudinally into and out of butting engagement with the respective stationary rails, beveled members adapted to fill the space between said separable rails when outwardly displaced and a system of bell crank levers to move one set of separable rails into engagement and the other set outof engagement and to push said beveled members into engagement with said outwardly displaced rails simultaneously.

2. In a railroad crossing, alined stationary rails, separable rails arranged in sets in alinement with respective pairs of stationary rails, filler blocks movable into and out of alinement with said separable rails, pairs of hell crank levers, respective pairs being fulcrumed adjacent to respective pairs of separable rails to move one set of separable rails into engagementand the other set out of engagement and means connected with said pairs of bell crank levers to push said filler blocks into and out of alinement with said separable rails.

8. In a railroad crossing, a bed plate, a track including a pair of rails and a second pair of rails alined with but spaced from the first pair, a second track at an angle to the said respective first pairs of rails at the intersection of said tracks, protractile and retractile filling elements arranged in the spaces of the respective tracks, and arranged to completely fill the respective spaces, and means to move the elements oppositely in the respective tracks.

4. In a railroad crossing, a pair of alined and spaced rails, separable rails alined with said rails and having their adjacent ends beveled, a wedge shaped filler'rail movable into and out of the space between the beveled ends, and a system of hell crank levers to operate the separable rails and filler rails simultaneously.

5. In arrailroad crossing, a pair of alined and spaced rails, a web, separable rails sliding in said web alined with said rails and having their adjacent ends beveled, a second pair oi alined and spaced rails arranged at an angle to the first named rails, other separable rails alined with the second pair of rails and having their ends beveled, filler blocks movable into and out of alinement with the separable rails, and means operable simultaneously to move one pair of separable ranged to move one bracket toward and the V crank levers operable simultaneously to rails apart and insert the filler blocktherebetween, and move the second pair of filler rails together and withdraw the filler block.

6. In a railroad crossing, a pair of alined and spaced rails, separable rails alined with said rails and having their adjacent ends beveled, a second pair of alined and spaced rails arranged at an, angle to the first named rails, other separable rails alined with the second pair of rails and having their ends beveled, filler blocks movable into and out of alinement with the separable rails, means operable simultaneously to move one pair of separable rails apart and insert the filler block therebetween, and move the second pair of filler rails together and withdraw the filler block, said means comprising pairs of bell crank. levers, each pair being fulcrumed adjacent a respective pair of separable rails, one arm of each being connected to' a respective separable rail, brackets each connecting the remaining arms of a respective pair of levers, rods connected to respective brackets and filler blocks, and a linkage connecting said brackets and arother away from the center of the crossing. 7 In a railroad crosslng, an lIlSlClB- guard rail rectangle separable rails alined with said rails and having their adjacent ends beveled, said separable rails-and firstmentioned rails having a tongue and slot connection, a wedge shaped filler rail movable into and out of the space betweenthebeveled ends, and bell. crank levers passing through slots in said guard rail rectangle to operate the separable rails and filler rails simultaneously. I v I 8; In a railroad crossing, alined stationary rails, separable rails arranged in sets located between pairs of the alined rails and movable longitudinally into and out of butting engagement with the respective stationary rails, a system of bell crank levers tomove certain sets of separable rails into such engagement and other sets out of such engagement simultaneously, and a locking device to holdsaid means releasably from movement.

9. Ina railroad crossing, alined stationary rails, separable rails arranged in sets in alinement with respective pairs of stationary rails, filler blocks movable into and out ofalinement with said separable rails, a system of bell crank levers to move said rails apart and together, other means connected tothe first means to move saidfiller blocks into and out of alinement with the separable rails, and a locking device to hold said means releasably from movement.

10, In a railroad crossing, a track including a pair of rails and a second pair of rails alined with but spaced from the first pair, a second track at an angle to the first and ineluding similarly alined and spaced rails,

protractile and retracti-le filling elements ar: ranged in the spaces of the respective tracks,

and arranged to completely fill the respec;

tivespaces, a system of bell crank levers to move the elements oppositelyin the respec tive tracks, and a locking deviceto hold said means releasably frommovement. V j

'11. Ina railroad crossing, a pair of alined and spaced rails, separable railsjalined with y w said rails and having their adjacent ends beveled, a wedge shaped fillerrail movable into and out ofthe space between thebeveled ends, a system of bell crank levers to said-rails and having their adjacent ends beveled, a second pair of alined and spaced rails arranged at an angle to the first named rails, other separablerailsalined. with the second pair of rails and having their ends beveled, filler blocks movable into and out of alinement with the separable rails, and"bell move one pair of separable rails apart andf insert the filler block therebetween and move the secondpair of filler rails together I andwithdraw thefiller block, and a locking device tohold saidmeans. releasably from movement. r

' 13, In a railroad crossing, pair of alined beveled, said separable rails and first mentioned rails having a tongueandslot con- 14. In a railroad'crossing, apair of alined and spaced rails, separable rails alined with said rails and having their adjacent ends beveled, a'second pair of alinedand spaced rails arranged at an angle to the first named rails, other separable rails alined withthe second pair of rails and having their ends beveled, filler blocks movable into andout of alinementwith the separable rails, means operable" simultaneously to move one pair of separable rails apart and insert the filler block therebetween, and move the second pair of filler rails togetherand withdraw the filler block, said means comprising pairsv of bell crank levers, each pair being fulcrumed adjacent a respective pair of separable rails, one arm ofeach leverbeing con nected to a respective separable rail, brackets each connecting the remaining arms of a. respect1ve pa1r-of levers, rods connected to Y and spacedrails, separable railsalined with, said ralls and havingthe'ir adjacent ends respective brackets and filler blocks, a link- In testimony whereof, I aifix my signaage connecting said brackets and arranged ture, in the presence of two witnesses.

to move one bracket toward and the other LEE L. HARTZLER. away from the center of the crossing, and Witnesses:

means to lock said linkage releasably from HARRY R. WHITE,

movement. HELEN Cox.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patentg,

' Washington, D. G. 

